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Archive For May, 2012

The Biggest Yaris Fans?

May 23, 2012 · pinkstones

We love happy stories of happy customers, so here’s another!

Graham and Barbara from Newcastle under Lyme have bought their FOURTH Toyota Yaris from us!

The couple explained, “We bought our first Yaris from you and we loved it. It was a lovely little car and we’ve never wanted any other model of car since!” They changed their car each time a new model of the Yaris came out and they’re very pleased with the latest one!

Their recent change to the new Yaris was pushed forward earlier than the other changes, due to a road traffic accident where somebody went into the back of them at a high speed. Every cloud has a silver lining though as they couldn’t be happier with their upgraded car!

“We took a look at another local dealership just out of curiosity to see what other cars were out there, but we didn’t like the way we were treated. We weren’t impressed with the car either, so we went straight back to Pinkstones. Our salesman at Pinkstones wasn’t pushy at all. He was very relaxed, patient and an absolute pleasure to deal with. We loved the new Yaris too, so we had to get another!”

Graham and Barbara love to use their Yaris for short trips and the occasional long distance journey to see family. One of their favourite things to do is take their little dog Fudge for walks, and he enjoys his place in the boot. Below you can see some photographs of the three enjoying a day out at the park.

It’s lovely to see happy customers, especially when they return to us repeatedly and rave about our customer service. The Yaris is proving to be our most popular selling model at Pinkstones, but can it be out-done by the new Yaris hybrid? Watch this space!

Would you like 10% off a service, or 10% off genuine Toyota parts? Or how about a 1/2 price valet?! We’re looking for Toyota cars to feature on our blog and all those featured will be given a voucher for a discounted rate on a service, Toyota parts or a valet. We’ll also do a photoshoot of your car for the feature and give you the photographs!

Contact us on 01782 599111 and ask for Laura, or im@pinkstones.toyota.co.uk to get involved!

Two Class Wins for the GT86 at the Nurburgring 24hr Race – the Toughest Race in the World

May 22, 2012 · pinkstones

This weekend saw the 24 hour Nurburgring race and 4 GT86 cars were entered; 2 with the Gazoo Racing Team and another 2 from Swiss Toyota Racing Team. (See further details on the teams on our previous blog post here)

There was a lot of anticipation in the build-up to the race, as the award-winning GT86 is Toyota’s first racing car for years. The GT86 isn’t even launched in the UK (it will be in July) yet has already caught worldwide attention for its looks, handling and performance!

A quick summary of the results:

The Gazoo Racing Team’s GT86 cars were numbers #165 and #166.

#165 came 1st place in its class, the SP3 and came 46th overall!

#166 came 6th place in the same class (nearly two podium positions for the team!) and 65th overall.

The Swiss Toyota Racing Team’s GT86 cars were numbers #200 and #201.

#200 came 1st place in its class, the V3 and came 68th overall (and it was a production-car!)

#201 sadly didn’t finish the race – they were hit from behind by a Porsche GT3 and is beyond repair. Thankfully the driver is ok, but understandably shaken.

The Nurburgring 24 hours Race is considered among racing drivers to be “the toughest race in the world” because of the intense strain put on both car and driver. In-fact, it’s often referred to as “The Green Hell”! Steep hills, 170 bends and over 15.5miles long, the Nurburgring tests drivers and cars to their limits.

Below you can see a GT86 car from each team; the Gazoo and Swiss Toyota Racing teams:

The cars with the teams / drivers:

During the 24 hours the weather changed from dry and hot to pouring rain, increasing the difficulty for the teams. Many cars fail to even complete the Nurburgring 24hr race due to mechanical failures or crashes, so it is a reward in itself to complete it, especially when the weather can be so variable over the course.

Further photographs of the event, (sourced from Toyota Europe, Lexus Europe and Danny Chen):

The two class wins have reminded the world that Toyota is a force to be reckoned with on-track; especially with the production-car GT86 taking a win! The teams must be incredibly proud of their results and it’s a fantastic lead-up to the GT86 UK launch in approx 6 weeks!

To finish off this post, play the video below to have a listen to the growling sound of the GT86 as it pulls out of the pits!

Our GT 86 is due to arrive in our show room on Friday 20th July 2012 – wouldn’t it be great to be the very first person in Staffordshire to take it for a test drive?! Or the first to own one?! Email us on GT86@pinkstones.toyota.co.uk or call 01782 608 579 to book your test drive!

Ready, Steady,….Gazoo!

May 17, 2012 · pinkstones

The Gazoo Racing Team are busy preparing for this weekend’s 24hour Nurburgring race! Four Toyota GT86 cars and one Lexus LFA will be competing in the fierce endurance race on the historic German circuit. Below you can see photographs of the cars and the team.

Race schedule:

Qualifying 1 – May 17, 19:30-23:30
Qualifying 2 – May 18, 09:30-11:35
Top 40 Qualifying – May 18, 18:00-18:50
Race – May 19, 16:00 – May 20, 16:00

Gazoo Racing are entering one Lexus LFA and two Toyota GT86 cars; these will be joined by Toyota Swiss Racing Team, who is putting a further two GT86 cars into the race.The launch of the GT86 and the partnership between Toyota and Gazoo Racing is part of an overall plan to broaden the appeal of motorsport, as-well as encouraging a new generation to become Toyota fans! Unique to Gazoo Racing is the fact that it uses the company’s in-house personnel as the drivers and mechanics. This way, they’re helping to develop better cars and encourage employee involvement.

The Nurburgring 24 hour race is world reknown for the challenging drive. The track is 15.5 miles long with 170 tricky turns and severe hills throughout. During just one lap, a car will go through inclines of up to 18% and drops of up to 11%; causing incredible G-forces on the drivers as they race at speeds of over 100mph and covering a total of 2462 miles in total!

Surrounded either side by a thick layer of trees, the Nurburgring Nordschleife track is often referred to as “The Green Hell”, due to the strain put onto both driver and car. The race isn’t just down to top speed – the car’s reliability is just as important. A large number of cars fail to even complete the 24 hour race due to mechanical failures.

Below you can see a section of the track:

To view a live stream of this incredible race, click here.

To listen to the commentary in English, just turn down the volume on the link above and have this in a second window.

If you’d like a LIVE map of where each car is and when, then click here.

We wish them well and look forward to watching the race!

If you would like an opportunity to take the GT86 round a track for a spin, don’t miss out on Toyota’s national competition here!

We’re expecting the GT86 to be at our dealership in Stoke on Trent on 20th July. Email us on GT86@pinkstones.toyota.co.uk or call 01782 608 579 to book your test drive!

Blind Man Drives Car!

May 14, 2012 · pinkstones

Steve Mahan is clinically blind and yet here you can see him getting behind the wheel of a specially adapted Toyota Prius and heading out onto the road. This is a journey which many would have described as impossible just a few years ago.

Steve Mahan has just joined Google’s secretive self-driving car development project and he is by far their most demanding driver yet. In the video above, you can see Steve making a trip to the shops and making a detour for food at a Taco Bell drive-thru.

High detailed mapping technology along with artificial intelligence, linked to cameras and sensors in the car, help the car to navigate the roads and have “awareness” of its surroundings / possible hazards. The car is following a predetermined route and manages to interpret road signs, traffic signals and avoid other cars.

Once purely in science fiction films, the autonomous car is now a reality.

It may be some time before these cars can go on sale to the public, but for now Google own 6 Toyota Prius cars and a Lexus RX450h. Well, they would need to use the best cars for the job, wouldn’t they?! So far their fleet of Toyota Prius cars have covered over 200,000 miles incident free test-driving.

Currently only Nevada has changed its laws to allow self-driven cars on the roads. The overall long term plan is to allow the public to have these cars. Google’s Prius has been issued with a red licence plate to make it recognisable. The plate has an infinity sign next to the number 001. Other states in the USA are planning future changes to their laws to also allow these cars on their roads – the changes are coming as people are learning more about the cars and their capabilites. They believe they could actually be safer than cars driven by people; when people can become tired or distracted, the car won’t.

How would you feel if you saw a car driving by itself? Do you think it could become a normal occurence on the roads?

Competition to Drive the GT86 at Goodwood!

May 11, 2012 · pinkstones

Toyota GB are holding a national competition, searching for “Real Drivers” – they’re looking for a total of 86 Real Drivers to be the very first to take the GT86 for a spin round Goodwood! Below you can see a screenshot from the website:

What you need to do is simply fill out their online form with your details and what driving means to you. From there they’ll somehow select 86 drivers (we don’t envy the people making that big decision!)

It’s so easy and quick to do – why on earth wouldn’t you enter?! In-case you need reminding, the GT86 is a ground breaking new Toyota car, named Car of the Year 2012!

To enter the GT86 driving competition, simply go to here. Don’t forget to share it with your friends too!

Surprise!! A Toyota Yaris Birthday Present!

May 9, 2012 · pinkstones

Yesterday evening Keith Marquis drove his wife Anne up to our Pinkstones Toyota dealership, without her having any idea why they were coming to us. Keith had already paid a visit to our dealership and purchased a Toyota Approved Used Yaris, as a birthday present for his wife – and now they were coming to collect it!

Shortly after they arrived, her new Toyota Yaris was pulled up by the front of our dealership… and then Keith told her, “This is yours!”

It was a lovely, heart-warming moment as she was full of big smiles and close to tears. “It’s been the shock of my life!”

Their last car was a Yaris and they’d both really enjoyed the car, so getting a newer model was a real treat. They had been looking for a new car for some time and it just had to be this one!

Keith explained, “It’s her 65th birthday next week and it’s also our youngest’s birthday today, so it made sense to get the car today. We’re also big Liverpool supporters so of course we had to get the red Yaris!”

They had Noah, their grandson with them, and he was all too-happy to jump into the new car (and the driver’s seat!)

With birthday presents like this, Keith is surely raising the bar for himself What will he buy her on her next birthday we wonder?!

It was an absolute pleasure to meet them and to be a part of this special occasion.

Contact us on 01782 599111 and ask for Laura, or im@pinkstones.toyota.co.uk to get involved!

GT86 Named Car of the Year

May 9, 2012 · pinkstones

The Toyota GT86 has been named the Car of the Year at the 2012 Vehicle Dynamics International Awards

This is a fantastic achievement for Toyota and for the Chief Designer of the GT86, Tetsuya Tada. An expert panel of engineers and journalists announced the results of the awards, expressing their delight in the design of the GT86. They commented, “Toyota has succeeded in its aim of recapturing the classic sports car experience in its new GT86.”

The award was presented jointly to the Toyota GT86 and its sister car, the Subaru BRZ.

GT86 arrives in the UK this July in Stoke on Trent, as a revival of Toyota’s sports car heritage. The GT86 is a truly beautiful machine which has been designed in every aspect to be a true driver’s car.

“…one of the best driving sports cars of the last decade” – Top Gear

Toyota’s Chief Engineer Testsuya Tada, pictured below, was also recognised for his work on the GT86, along with his Subaru counterpart Toshio Masuda. Both of them shared the award for VDI Dynamicist of the Year.

Additional to this, Toyota was also awarded the Dynamic Team Award, confirming the success of Toyota’s commitment to producing cars that are more rewarding to drive.

Graham Heeps, editor of Vehicle Dynamics International said; “For some time now we’ve been beating the drum for simplicity. Cars from major manufacturers that take a less-is-more approach and offer fun at legal speeds have been thin on the ground. That’s why we believe the Toyota GT86, and its twin sister, the Subaru BRZ are deserved recipients of the 2012 VDI Car of the Year Award.”

Judge Phil Morse, from the USA said; “A quick look at Toyota’s vehicle line-up should remove any doubt that there is a fierce competitor in the company driver’s seat, and that the tenets of motorsports – superior technology and the enjoyment of driving – serve as his guiding light.”

In addition, the award for the ‘Dynamics Team of the Year’ went to Toyota’s dynamics team, not only for its work on the GT86 but also because of the new emphasis on driving performance that is filtering down through products such as the latest Lexus GS.

Bruno Reinke, Toyota’s European Executive responsible for Chassis & Dynamics, explained their inspiration for the GT86, “Some time ago our president, Akio Toyoda, challenged us to make ‘even better’ cars. This award shows that we are heading in the right direction, and we will continue to make cars with a more dynamic character right across our range – from small city cars, through to sports cars and luxury vehicles.”

Our GT 86 is due to arrive in our show room on Thursday 12th July 2012 – wouldn’t it be great to be the very first person in Staffordshire to take it for a test drive?! Or the first to own one?! Email us on GT86@pinkstones.toyota.co.uk or call 01782 608 579 to register your attendance to our launch evening and to book your test drive!

New Toyota Supra Coming in 2015

May 9, 2012 · pinkstones

A new Toyota Supra, which is hybrid and capable of 0-62mph in just over 4 seconds?!

There’s a rumour that Toyota are planning a new Supra in 2015 – an updated version of the famous sports car, which will be a hybrid and all-wheel-drive. Below you’ll find a bit of information about it but as the story develops and we learn more about this concept, we’ll post it on here!

Here is a rendering made by Holiday Auto Magazine, which created it based on what has been said about the Supra already:

However, there are various sources all saying that the new Supra will actually be based on the GRMN MRS prototype, pictured below:

The move for the new Supra follows a superb reaction to the new GT86 and various sources claim it will ride on the platform used for the GRMN concept.

The new Toyota Supra is rumoured to be a 4-wheel-drive hyrid car, with a MR2 modified chassis, a mid-mounted 245bhp 3.5 litre V6 engine and an electric motor driving the front wheels. The total bhp is expected to be around the 400bhp mark. The 0-62mph time? Expect it to be just over 4 seconds!

The powertrain is likely to be carried over into the production car, but instead of having one single motor powering the front wheels, there will be two in-wheel electric motors at the front. The engine will deliver power to the car’s rear wheels through a CVT gearbox, currently used in a Lexus RX.

It’s a car which has already taken the automotive world by storm – and it hasn’t even been made yet! We’re really looking forward to the official launch of this car and we’ll certainly keep the news updated on this blog. We’re interested to know what current Supra owners think about this concept too! Just a few weeks ago we did a photoshoot and feature of a Toyota Supra which was is immaculate condition and used in drag racing. If you fancy a read, check out the blog post here.

Cheapest Fuel Prices in Staffordshire

May 3, 2012 · pinkstones

Updated Every Friday

Last update – Friday 24th May 2013

We’re very conscious of fuel prices (as we’re sure you are too!) so to try to help out a bit, we’ll be posting the cheapest fuel prices within Staffordshire. We’ll be checking the latest, cheapest fuel prices in our local area and update it every Friday, so before you fill up for your weekend adventure, check this list first!

Additionally, if you’re looking for a new and economical car, check out the new Toyota Aygo and Yaris which both come with 1 years’ free insurance & low monthly payments!

Cheapest Fuel Prices in Stoke on Trent:

Cheapest fuel in Newcastle Under Lyme:

Cheapest fuel in Stafford:

Prices sourced from petrolprices

Top Driving Tips to Improve your MPG

May 1, 2012 · pinkstones

People are increasingly concerned about fuel prices and how to get the best mpg out of their car. Toyota Stoke are here to help with that! We can advise you on the best local fuel prices, offer tips on how to adjust your driving to imporve your fuel efficiency and we also have a fantastic range of high mpg cars available at 0% APR! If you’re interested in hybrid cars but not sure what they would be like to drive or own, then have a read of our hybrid FAQ blog post.

Here are some tips on how to adjust your driving to improve your mpg:

Remove any un-necessary weight from the car
Ensure the tyres are inflated correctly
Try to plan ahead to avoid any heavy traffic / queues (or even getting lost!)
When travelling above 45mph, close your windows and sunroof
Remove any roofracks or bike racks if not needed
Maintain steady speeds
Be gentle on acceleration

For those with hybrid cars looking to maximise their mpg, here are some additional tips:

Familiarise yourself with the car’s display to understand how the energy is being used
Pressing the accelerator gently but consistently will help it to remain in a more economical mode
Use your economical mode whenever you can
Gentle, early braking will boost the regenerative braking, resulting in the economical mode for longer periods
When stationary, do not select ‘N’ for neutral as electricity wll not be generated and the hybrid battery will discharge
Try to use Cruise Control when possible
If using Climate Control, re-circulate mode reduces energy usage
Maximise the use of your EV mode wherever it is appropriate to do so
Heavy use of air-con, lights and wipers all increase energy consumption, so limit your use of these if they aren’t needed

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